Turnaround times and dispatch of specimens

The turnaround times for specimens that are sent to a referral laboratory are greater than for those tests that are analysed within the department. Specimens for most tests are sent away for analysis once a week, on the following days.

Specimens that can be transported at ambient temperature by first class post are dispatched on a Tuesday.

Specimens that need to be transported frozen are sent once a week on a Wednesday.

The exceptions to this are specimens that are for a small number of labile analytes that need to be transported at ambient temperature by either courier or special delivery. These are dispatched on a Monday to Thursday.